History Videogame / TheSexyBrutale

* MyNaymeIs: It's the Sexy ''Brutale,'' not the Sexy Brutal. [[spoiler:According to the Reaper of Cards in the Basement, this is because Lucas thought it sounded more "glamorous".]]

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: It's the Sexy ''Brutale,'' not the Sexy Brutal. [[spoiler:According to the Reaper of Cards in the Basement, this is because Lucas thought it sounded more "glamorous".]]

* AwesomeMcCoolname: The titular mansion is named InUniverse thus because it sounds "glamorous."

''The Sexy Brutale'' is a [[PuzzleGame Puzzle]]-AdventureGame developed by Cavalier Game Studios and Creator/TequilaWorks. It was released on April 12, 2017 on the PC, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne. The game was also released for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch on December 7 of the same year.

* ForWantOfANail: None of the events in the game would have happened had [[spoiler:Lucas told Sixpence about his plan to destroy the Sexy Brutale, which would have probably resulted in the clockmaker double-checking Lucas's timers, which would've meant the bombs going off on time instead of killing all of Lucas's friends in a premature fire]].

* DeafComposer: Trinity Carrington, the blind master sculptress.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: The titular mansion is named InUniverse thus because it sounds "glamorous." Moreover, all of the guests are named interesting names, like Tequila Belle or Lafcadio Boone.

* WholePlotReference: In the children's story "Lafcadio: The Lion who Shot Back" by Creator/ShelSilverstein, a hunter shoots at the titular character, only to find that his rifle is not loaded, and then Lafcadio eats the hunter. This is very similar to the tutorial section of ''The Sexy Brutale'', where a hunting rifle is used to kill Sixpence, who kills the staff member if Lafcadio Boone [[spoiler:puts a blank in the rifle]]. Moreover, Lafcadio-the-lion forgets that [[spoiler:he's a lion until he returns to Africa and another lion reminds him of his true identity. The lions and the hunters try to convince him to join their respective sides]], but Lafcadio-the-lion rejects both of them and walks off into the distance, never to be heard from again. The story of Lafcadio Boone, [[spoiler:forgetting his identity as Lucas and being forced to choose the side of either the hunters or the hunted]], follows this basic plot.

** ...up until the point where Nine Hearts' insistence to double check the [[spoiler:off switch for the theatre cage]] causes Nine Spades to [[BerserkButton blow up at him]]. See SuddenlyShouting above.

-->'''Three Hearts:''' It's days like this when it's great to be alive... and a total bastard.

-->'''Greyson:''' Ah HA! Oh Thanos...So predictable. I can just imagine him now-- so pleased with himself...HIDING A SAFE BEHIND A PICTURE! WHAT AN IDEA! NO YOUNG WHIPPERSNAPPER WOULD EVER THINK OF IT!

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: There are your usual causes of death, like gunshots, but then there's... %%Editor's note for this trope — for it to count as cruel and unusual, it has to be next-level weird and horrible.%%

* EarnYourBadEnding: There's an alternate ending that answers nothing and gives little closure, in which [[spoiler:Lucas falls back into his gambling addiction]]. To get this ending, you need to collect an entire deck of cards scattered throughout the mansion, some of which get destroyed if you don't get to them quickly enough. This is considerably more difficult than just playing through the story. [[spoiler:At the end of that ending he shatters the glass window in the back with his voice, but whether this symbolizes him eventually escaping from that mindless hedonism, simply suffering deep inside forever, or something else is unclear.]]

** The dining hall being set so early. [[spoiler:Since everyone's already dead and Lucas once joking about holding a "dumb supper," it's a reference to a tradition in Samhain where a place would be set during feasts for the dead returning home so they can join the meal.]]

* EnemyWithin: Near the ending, this is revealed to be the case for [[spoiler:Golden Skull and the staff he commands. Golden Skull is in reality the representation of the part of Lucas' psyche that refuses to forgive himself for accidentally killing his friends, wife, and unborn child. With the aid of the staff which are also in reality extensions of Lucas' psyche, Golden Skull has been torturing Lucas' mind for years by constantly replaying an embellished version of the very day Lucas killed everyone. As a part of Lucas, Golden Skull refuses to let Lucas forgive himself and/or forget his sin.]]

*** On the cover and main menu screen, the background behind the characters looks like the sun shining behind clouds. This references [[spoiler:the fire that burned down the casino as what actually is on the cover and main menu is smoke illuminated by the flames below]]. Also, Lafcadio is depicted as a pawn in Lucas's hand. This is because [[spoiler:he's not actually Lafcadio, but rather an aspect of Lucas that he — as the player — controls, whereas the other aspects of Lucas are outside of his — and therefore the player's -- control]].

*** At 4:15, you can hear the sound of glass breaking no matter where you are in the mansion, and if you are in the ballroom, you can see something or someone dropping from the sky. If your mind is set on saving everyone, you'll think it is one of the guests being pushed to their death, and you'll get to saving them eventually. [[spoiler:In a way, it is, but not in the way you think. That person falling is Lucas Bondes — the Marquis - and he is the only one whose tragedy is not altered in some way — as well as the last person you'll "save".]]
*** When talking to [[spoiler:Grinmaw, he calls you "Lafcadio", as if being sarcastic, hinting that this is not your real identity.]]

* TheGhost: Lucas and Eleanor. They're not among the other guests, and the guests repeatedly remark that Lucas' absence in particular is unusual. [[spoiler:Or at least they're this from the perspective of the guests and from what the player knows at first. In reality, they are the very first characters you see. The Bloody Lady is Eleanor - though her earlier, more normal self also appears late in the game - and Lucas is the player, the staff, Golden Skull, and technically everyone else as well. As with Eleanor, a "proper" Lucas also appears at the climax.]]

* INeedAFreakingDrink: After having his question about the gunshot turned away, Clay questions whether he's had too much to drink... then Sixpence's robot dealer makes another IncrediblyLamePun and he decides no, he hasn't had nearly enough.
* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: Greyson is on the hunt for the Moloch Egg in the theatre, and he knows Lucas has one of his safes around somewhere. He finds it, opens it up, and the BGM rises to a crescendo... and then stops.

** The speakers announce that "The Marquis invites you to tonight's show! 7 P.M. in the theater!" So the significance of [[spoiler:the bell ringing at 6:50]] is misinterpretted as being related to that, except it's actually [[spoiler:Willow hanging herself in the bell tower]].

* MoodWhiplash: In most areas, the music becomes tense when a victim in that area is about to die. As the victim enters their death throes, the background music crescendos, then falls silent... and immediately the soundtrack resumes its original jaunty tune.

* NotMeThisTime: Subverted with Willow Blue's death. She is the only one who's death isn't directly caused by a staff member. [[spoiler: However her death was still set up by the same mastermind as the others]].

''The Sexy Brutale'' is a [[PuzzleGame Puzzle]]-AdventureGame developed by Cavalier Game Studios and Tequila Works. It was released on April 12, 2017 on the PC, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne. The game was also released for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch on December 7 of the same year.

* BrickJoke: After murdering Sixpence, Two Diamonds complains about the absence of Seven Clubs. Much later you can find out what Seven Clubs is actually doing — [[spoiler:he's playing piano for Tequila, and perfectly happy he's not anywhere near the chapel]].

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: There are your usual causes of death, like gunshots, but then there's... %%Editor's note for this trope — for it to count as cruel and unusual, it has to be next-level weird and horrible.%%

*** On the cover and main menu screen, the background behind the characters looks like the sun shining behind clouds. This references [[spoiler:the fire that burned down the casino as what actually is on the cover and main menu is smoke illuminated by the flames below]]. Also, Lafcadio is depicted as a pawn in Lucas's hand. This is because [[spoiler:he's not actually Lafcadio, but rather an aspect of Lucas that he — as the player — controls, whereas the other aspects of Lucas are outside of his — and therefore the player's -- control]].

*** Casino ledgers appear several times throughout the game, often where one wouldn't expect to see them, but particularly noteworthy is the secret passage between the bar and the theater. [[spoiler:This one has two sets of ledgers — one presumably being the actual figures, which show the Sexy Brutale for the money pit that it is, and the other being "adjusted" to hide that.]]

*** At 4:15, you can hear the sound of glass breaking no matter where you are in the mansion, and if you are in the ballroom, you can see something or someone dropping from the sky. If your mind is set on saving everyone, you'll think it is one of the guests being pushed to their death, and you'll get to saving them eventually. [[spoiler:In a way, it is, but not in the way you think. That person falling is Lucas Bondes — the Marquis - and he is the only one whose tragedy is not altered in some way — as well as the last person you'll "save".]]

** The game takes place in a casino, and Lafcadio used to have a gambling addiction. Moreover, the pocketwatch is patterned after a roulette table, and the interface is patterned after poker chips. Also, the staff are all named after playing cards. On a more abstract level, many of the guests die because they took too many risks — such as Trinity sneaking into the garden or Greyson rushing into an obvious trap. [[spoiler:And insurance, which played a major role in Lucas's get-rich-quick scheme that went horribly wrong, is inherently all about risks and unforeseeable troubles.]]

* ReverseWhodunnit: The central concept of the game. It's not a question of ''who'' committed the murders or how the victim was killed — you find out the staff are the ones murdering everyone at the very beginning of the game, and you'll most likely witness the murders firsthand several times. The real puzzle becomes figuring out a way to indirectly prevent the murder from happening in the first place, and, more broadly, what the killers' motives are.

* BrickJoke: After murdering Sixpence, Two Diamonds complains about the absence of Seven Clubs. Much later you can find out what Seven Clubs is actually doing — [[spoiler:he's playing piano for Tequila, and perfectly happy he's not anywhere near the chapel]].

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: There are your usual causes of death, like gunshots, but then there's... %%Editor's note for this trope — for it to count as cruel and unusual, it has to be next-level weird and horrible.%%

*** On the cover and main menu screen, the background behind the characters looks like the sun shining behind clouds. This references [[spoiler:the fire that burned down the casino as what actually is on the cover and main menu is smoke illuminated by the flames below]]. Also, Lafcadio is depicted as a pawn in Lucas's hand. This is because [[spoiler:he's not actually Lafcadio, but rather an aspect of Lucas that he — as the player — controls, whereas the other aspects of Lucas are outside of his — and therefore the player's -- control]].

*** Casino ledgers appear several times throughout the game, often where one wouldn't expect to see them, but particularly noteworthy is the secret passage between the bar and the theater. [[spoiler:This one has two sets of ledgers — one presumably being the actual figures, which show the Sexy Brutale for the money pit that it is, and the other being "adjusted" to hide that.]]

*** At 4:15, you can hear the sound of glass breaking no matter where you are in the mansion, and if you are in the ballroom, you can see something or someone dropping from the sky. If your mind is set on saving everyone, you'll think it is one of the guests being pushed to their death, and you'll get to saving them eventually. [[spoiler:In a way, it is, but not in the way you think. That person falling is Lucas Bondes — the Marquis - and he is the only one whose tragedy is not altered in some way — as well as the last person you'll "save".]]

** The game takes place in a casino, and Lafcadio used to have a gambling addiction. Moreover, the pocketwatch is patterned after a roulette table, and the interface is patterned after poker chips. Also, the staff are all named after playing cards. On a more abstract level, many of the guests die because they took too many risks — such as Trinity sneaking into the garden or Greyson rushing into an obvious trap. [[spoiler:And insurance, which played a major role in Lucas's get-rich-quick scheme that went horribly wrong, is inherently all about risks and unforeseeable troubles.]]

* ReverseWhodunnit: The central concept of the game. It's not a question of ''who'' committed the murders or how the victim was killed — you find out the staff are the ones murdering everyone at the very beginning of the game, and you'll most likely witness the murders firsthand several times. The real puzzle becomes figuring out a way to indirectly prevent the murder from happening in the first place, and, more broadly, what the killers' motives are.

*** Casino ledgers appear several times throughout the game, often where one wouldn't expect to see them, but particularly noteworthy is the secret passage between the bar and the theater. [[spoiler:This one has two sets of ledgers — one presumably being the actual figures, which show the Sexy Brutale for the money pit that it is, and the other being "[[CookingTheBooks adjusted]]" to hide that.]]

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Nine Hearts and Nine Spades, who never leave each others' sides the whole evening, and whose conversations usually take the form of a one or two-word question followed by a similarly short answer.
** ...up until the point where Nine Hearts' insistence to double check the [[spoiler:off switch for the theatre cage]] causes Nine Spades to [[BerserkButton blow up at him]]. See SuddenlyShouting above.
---> '''King Clubs:''' You two give me a bloody headache. You both sound so weird, ALL the time.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''. Like ''Majora's Mask'', the game is about a guy utilizing a GroundhogDayLoop to save people with the aide of magical masks.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: While many of the [[CollectionSidequest cards]] fall under GuideDangIt, the game does at least provide one (slightly non-obvious) way to reduce the frustration of finding the last few: [[spoiler:The most difficult cards to find also unlock room descriptions from the area where they're found, and viewing the list of room descriptions shows which cards unlock which ones, so you can use that to figure out the general location of the more hard-to-find cards, if you've missed any.]]

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Clay asks his waiter about a strange noise. The waiter tries to brush it off, despite knowing the sound was a man being murdered. Unfortunately, by this point, Clay's drunk, so he just accepts the explanation and gets back to what he was doing.

* TheGhost: Lucas and Eleanor. They're not among the other guests, and the guests repeatedly remark that Lucas' absence in particular is unusual. [[spoiler:Or at least they're this from the perspective of the guests and from what the player knows at first. In reality, the Bloody Lady is Eleanor - though her earlier, more normal self also appears late in the game - and Lucas is the player, the staff, Golden Skull, and technically everyone else as well. As with Eleanor, a "proper" Lucas also appears at the climax.]]

* TheGhost: Lucas and Eleanor. They're not among the other guests, and the guests repeatedly remark that Lucas' absence in particular is unusual.

*** In the dining room, [[spoiler:Eleanor is seated next to Lafcadio, and her husband, Lucas, does not have a seat. This foreshadows Lafcadio's true identity as Lucas himself]].

* EarnYourBadEnding: There's an alternate ending that answers nothing and gives little closure, in which [[spoiler:Lucas falls back into his gambling addiction]]. To get this ending, you need to collect an entire deck of cards scattered throughout the mansion, some of which get destroyed if you don't get to them quickly enough. This is considerably more difficult than just playing through the story.